Top Ten Books I Read In 2014!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.
Every once in a while I participate in this one when I either
1) Like the theme, and/or 2) Have the time!

This week's topic:

Top Ten Books I Read In 2014 
(Overall, By A Particular Genre, 2014 Releases)

We still have two weeks before the year is over, so look for my ultimate BEST OF list in January! (Also, Kat is coming back for that post despite the fact that her computer is STILL out of commission. She misses you guys!!!)

So these are my overall top ten books SO FAR this year! 
I still have time to change my mind! ^_^

In Order of When I Read Them in 2014...

1) DOLL BONES by Holly Black

DOLL BONES was one of the first books I read in 2014...and one of my favorites. I was lucky enough to be at ALA Midwinter the day it was granted a Newbery Honor...and to gain a copy at the booth later that day. It was the first title I read from ALA and I loved it. Black captured that awkward time between childhood and adolescence so so well. There are so many quotable passages in this book and I love it SO MUCH!

My review: DOLL BONES
 

2) INFINITE by Jodi Meadows

Not all finales can be truly satisfying. INFINITE was, and I was devastated to leave the world. Each one of the books in Jodi Meadows' Newsoul Trilogy has been better than the last, and if you're a lover of fantasy, I recommend checking her out. It delves deeper into fantasy than I ever thought it would or could, and I have nothing but good things to say about this series!

My review: INCARNATE, ASUNDER, INFINITE (Co-Review with Kat!), PHOENIX OVERTURE (Novella/Series Companion)


3) #16thingsithoughtweretrue by Janet Gurtler

I'm not a huge fan of contemporary, but this novel struck so many chords with me. I think a lot of nostalgia factored in, too. I understood so much of what Morgan was going through. I live near a local theme park and many of my friends/classmates worked there every summer. There's so much going on in this novel, but it all works together. I really loved it. The proof? I *gasp* actually bought a finished copy of this book on my nook. I don't often feel the need to buy and re-read contemporary novels, so that's a big deal!

My review: #16thingsithoughtweretrue
 

4) THE KISS OF DECEPTION by Mary E. Pearson

I loved loved loved this book. Definitely one of my top fantasy novels of 2014! I liked the mystery involved and the way the book was structured; this style is so hard to write, so kudos to Pearson! There were also a lot of really cool new concepts in the story itself, and this book was impossible to put down. SO MUCH LOVE!

My review: THE KISS OF DECEPTION
My interview with Mary E. Pearson! 

5) HEIR OF FIRE by Sarah J. Maas

Each one of these books has gotten better and better and better. After HEIR OF FIRE, my brain kind of exploded. A little bit. Maybe a lot. With this book, the series transcended into something more. I can't tell you how many times I recommend this series to people! I'm so glad Sarah moved to Philly, because I can hopefully go to many of her signings in years to come!

My review: THRONE OF GLASS (Kat reviewed this; I'm waiting for her computer to start functioning again so we can review the rest of the series together, so I don't have an HEIR review just yet!)
My interview with Sarah J. Maas!

 

6) FAMOUS IN LOVE by Rebecca Serle

I'd heard good things about Rebecca Serle in the past, but none of her books really motivated me to pick them up (Again, not a huge contemporary lover here...). I really got in the mood to read about "famous people" after falling so hard for Emery Lord earlier this year. When my BEA roommate Katie from Katie's Book Blog received an extra copy, she gave it to me...and I am so, so thankful. I wound up loving this book so much more than I ever dreamed possible! I really like the way the book brings fantasy into reality in the most bookish way possible and caters to book lovers. I love reading books about BOOKS, and mixing it with Hollywood in a way that brings fascination with actresses such as Jennifer Lawrence and Kristen Stewart to mind worked in its favor!

My review: FAMOUS IN LOVE
My interview with Rebecca Serle!

7) THE PERILOUS SEA by Sherry Thomas

I really enjoyed THE BURNING SKY and was hopeful that Sherry Thomas would create a compelling novel with THE PERILOUS SEA. I wasn't let down! I loved the second book even more than the first. The romance was swoonworthy, the action was intense, and the way the book flipped between "then" and "now" made me need to know what was going on. I couldn't read this book fast enough! Plus, it takes place, in part, in a desert. LOVE. I am beyond anxious for the finale in 2015!

My review: THE BURNING SKY, THE PERILOUS SEA
My interview with Sherry Thomas!

8) THE MARK OF ATHENA by Rick Riordan

Choosing this book was HARD. I did a ten book series read-a-thon this past summer/fall leading up to the release of the final book in this series. I held off on reading THE MARK OF ATHENA for two years (Okay, I ran out of time and was going to read it last year when THE HOUSE OF HADES came out and THEN decided to wait one more year for an epic read-a-thon). THE MARK OF ATHENA was the first "new" book by Riordan I read during my read-a-thon. I think it might have been my favorite in the series, but there are so many good books, so it's hard to say! The books have matured and gotten so much more engrossing by this point. The stakes are higher than ever. The villains are more frightening. And THAT ENDING! OMG, what a cliffhanger! So glad I could go on to the next book right away!!!

My review: THE LOST HERO, THE SON OF NEPTUNE
Jennifer Ellision's guest post!
 

9) PRINCESS OF THORNS by Stacey Jay

I had an ARC of this book for so long, but I didn't have time to read it until right before the book launched. I definitely kicked myself for waiting so long, too. I was really engrossed in the novel, and loved the way fairy tales were mixed in with original fantasy. It was fully intriguing and so hard to put down. I would love to see Stacey Jay continue writing fairy tales in the future. Her visions are so unique!

...I just finished reading this one a week or two ago, so there's no review yet!

10) STITCHING SNOW by R.C. Lewis

This is one of my favorite book covers of 2104. It's so, so pretty in person! I received an ARC of this one at BEA earlier this year, and while it was the first BEA book that Kat read, I never got around to it until this past week. It's been sitting on my TBR pile staring at me. I've been trying to get around to more of my 2014 "Potential Best of the Year" books this month, and knew how much Kat loved tihs. I wound up really liking it as well...so much that when my dad asked me what books I wanted for Christmas, I asked for a finished copy! (But that's a story for next week's TTT!) I was afraid to read this because I heard it was a CINDER knock-off, but that's not the case AT ALL and I really loved it!

...I just finished reading this one last week, so there's no review yet!



What were your favorite books of 2014? ^_^